


what are you doing here?

by mylongestoof



Series: *carlos joined the party* [2]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Gen, Homophobia, I’m sorry, Paranoia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylongestoof/pseuds/mylongestoof
Summary: Carlos’s life leading up to before Night Vale, featuring Michael, the Distortion.(If you want context, then I suggest you read the first part of this. If you want though, I won’t force you.)
Series: *carlos joined the party* [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1874161
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	what are you doing here?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Styre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Styre/gifts).



> Tw: homophobia, the f slur, The Spiral and Spiral related fears, minor original character death

For the first years of Carlos’s life, Carlos thought he grew up in the best family to ever exist in the cosmos. His childhood beliefs that his family was objectively the best were too strong, making Carlos biased and unable to truly see his family the way they were. But that was childhood, wasn’t it?

Carlos’s family were rather supportive of the whole “scientist” dream. They bought him books and microscopes and Bunsen Burners just so he could do his experiments inside, while his brother played outside. They were proud of Carlos when he ranted about the scientific purpose of oak leaves.

 _“Never change.”_ His parents said, _“You should be proud of yourself. You are so very interesting.”_

So Carlos grew up thinking that he should never change, that everything about him was right.

When he was twelve, he had his first crush. It was on a boy who was a grade above him. They had been paired together on a library assignment, since their reading level was the same.

Carlos could barely speak to him. The boy just thought he was anti-social, and ended up doing most of the work and began to regard Carlos as a child. Carlos thought that he was stupid after he told his friends that the assignment was more like babysitting, and he got over that crush pretty quickly, but the knowledge of what that meant stayed with him.

When he was fifteen, his parents asked if he liked any girls.

 _“No.”_ Carlos answered.

_“No one? Surely a girl must have caught your eye.”_

Carlos shook his head, and told him that he was too focused on school to be in a relationship. They left him alone after that.

Carlos wasn’t oblivious to how the world has treated people like him. He saw the news reports about the AIDS epidemic, and he read about Stonewall and bar raids. He was well versed in what people like him had to go through. He knew that the world didn’t yet understand. Not everyone could be a scientist.

Carlos wasn’t worried about his family, though. He knew that they loved him, and he was so sure that they would be accepting and kind.

Carlos told them at dinner when he was sixteen years old. He came right out and, well, came out.

_“Mom, dad, I’m gay.”_

They thought he was joking in the beginning. They laughed and said that the table was no place for comedy shows. Carlos repeated himself.

That was the moment that Carlos realized that his family wasn’t quite as accepting as he thought they were. For two hours, Carlos had to listen as his mother yelled at him, asking what they had done wrong. Carlos had tried to say that they did nothing wrong, that he was always like this, but they barely let him speak.

Then they kicked him out, but not before saying something that had scarred him for life.

_“You can forget about college, Carlos. Faggots don’t become scientists.”_

Carlos walked to his aunt’s house and told her, through tears, what his parents had done. She, being a single forty year old woman in the 90s, accepted him into her home with the grace Carlos wished his parents had.

That night, Carlos thought about his parents. He was angry at them. They told him that they loved him and that he should never change. He was angry at them for telling him that. They didn’t mean it. So why did they tell him that? Why?

Carlos didn’t sleep that night.

As it turns out, Carlos didn’t need to pay out of pocket for college. He got many scholarships based on his knowledge of science alone! His parents didn’t show up to his graduation, even after Carlos invited them.

He went to college, and started working on getting a degree. He was hoping to find more people who were like him in college, but it turned out that he was completely alone, again.

Carlos told himself that it didn’t matter. He had been alone before, and he could do it again.

He graduated from college. He invited his parents and his brother, but they didn’t show. A month later, his aunt died. He was the only person to attend her funeral.

It was 2000, and Carlos had gotten a job as a researcher in New York City. He worked as hard as he could, and slept for the rest of the time. He hadn’t made any friends in college and he wasn’t keen on making any friends in New York either.

That probably wasn’t for the best. Carlos became extremely anxious, aware of all the horrors that the universe had presented and unwilling to leave the false safety of his apartment. On the rare moments when he wasn’t at work or at home, he found himself jumping at every single thing, doubting every single person.

One day, however, Carlos met a friend.

Carlos met Michael late at night in the lab. Carlos had been finishing his work, doing overtime, when a frantic knock came from somewhere deep within the office.

Carlos was worried that someone needed his help, and located the door in which the knocking was coming from. A faint, yellow door stood out in the hallway right outside of Carlos’s station. He quickly opened it, and a strange man stepped out.

“Wow, that sure was crazy. Anyway, I’m Michael.” He said to no one. He pushed his long, wavy hair out of his face and turned to Carlos. For a split second, Carlos saw a distorted monster. His heart was suddenly in his throat and he couldn’t breathe. This scientific marvel was going to kill him. That was simultaneously the best and worst thing that could have ever happened to Carlos.

“Interesting.” Michael whispered, “Hey, do you want to step into my door?”

Carlos didn’t answer. Michael didn’t wait for him to answer. He grabbed Carlos’s arm and dragged him into the twisting hallways.

Carlos screamed. He must have been dragged for a millennia; his memories soon replaced by the hallways and the vague shape of his life was all that remained. Carlos even forgot most of his name.

When he emerged, he was in a desert. He was the Scientist. The door behind him was not noticed.

Carlos sat there for a few hours, reeling, remembering all that had happened. Later, he would forget all that had happened. He would forget about the years and years of torture within the spiraling walls. He would forget what Michael had done, and who Michael was. He would only remember the door.

**Author's Note:**

> This is for you, Styre.  
> Also, I’m sorry I had to use the f slur. I seriously hate that word, but I felt to write it in because sadly people used it back then. Thank god we are in a different time now.


End file.
